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Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 6: Spencer Horwitz
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Another top prospect list, another time Spencer Horwitz ranks sixth.

Just a quick recap of the mid-season list: We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and finally other publications (Prospects Live, MLB Pipeline, Baseball America)’ scouting reports.

Let’s take a look at the first baseman who’s currently in the big leagues.

Getting to know Spencer Horwitz…

Position: First base/Left field

Bats: Left

Born: November 14, 1997

Acquired: 24th round, 2019 draft

Current Team: Toronto Blue Jays

Previous Ranking: 6

This season in Triple-A, Horwitz slashed .337/.450/.495 with 10 homers in 484 plate appearances for a 143 wRC+. It’s also worth noting that he had a higher BB% (16.1%) than K% (14.9%) in his time in Buffalo.

Horwitz being one of the best hitters in the minor leagues earned him a September call-up to the Blue Jays, where he has hit .292/.393/.458 with a homer in 28 plate appearances for a 141 wRC+.

However, it’s not a breakout season for Horwitz, far from it. The 25-year-old has been doing this for years now, as he slashed .290/.401/.446 with 10 homers in 469 plate appearances for a 131 wRC+ with the Vancouver Canadians in 2021. He hit an additional two homers in 16 plate appearances for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, giving him a career-high 12 home runs.

The 2022 season was no different for Horwitz, who slashed .297/.413/.517 with 10 homers in 281 plate appearances for the Fisher Cats (154 wRC+). He earned a call-up to the Bisons where he had his worst season yet (minimum 100 plate appearances) when he slashed .246/.361/.363 with two homers in 202 plate appearances for a 101 wRC+. Although he missed time with injury which could’ve played into his poor performance.

Horwitz is certainly a hit-over-power profile. In fact, I gave him a 70-grade hit tool in my pre-season top 50, which I completely stand by. Why? Well, Horwitz has been one of the most consistent hitters in the minor leagues over the past four seasons. Not only that, but he has a great eye at the plate, rarely strikes out, and makes a ton of contact. This allows him to hit the ball all over the field, racking up a .302 career minor league batting average and a .407 career on-base percentage.

There are definitely some aspects of his game to be desired, such as not hitting for a ton of power, despite playing first base. Not only that, but Horwitz isn’t a great defender at first base or left field, and he isn’t particularly fast either.

With that being said, despite his great hit tool, he’ll need to tap into some more of that raw power to get consistent at-bats on a contending team. He has all the makings of a great hitter, though.

Next up…

Sticking with left-handed hitters, we’ll look at one who has been on the up and up over the past few months!

In case you missed it…

me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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